Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient, #2) Reviews

Angelica - Dominican Republic

3

Thu, 21 Feb 2019

ok, so despite my average rating, this book was actually super cute!Last year I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. It was enjoyable and cute and oh, so unique. Never had I read a book from the point of view of a character on the autism spectrum. To be honest, its something I never even thought about, especially not when it came to romance novels. I really do wish that more authors take that POV into account in the future as it was definitely an interesting read.Now, Hoang has given us a new book, set in the same world, with yet another set of wonderful charcters and I was so excited to read it.I am not going to go much into the plot, as I'm sure the synopsis covers that, so I'm just going to tell you all the things I loved and didn't love so much. First, I love these new characters. Khai is the autistic character in this novel and I loved him! He was nothing like Stella in The Kiss Quotient, showing how not everyone with Asperger's syndrome is the same. I often feel like authors represent certain peoples in a shallow and stereotyped manner. Thankfully, as an ownvoices author, Hoang has a wonderful and insightful understanding of ASD that gives depth and originality to her characters.Esme was also a fun character although I admit there were times when I questioned how fast she was moving in this relationship. That though is more a problem in the plot, and I will get to that later.Quan, Khai's brother, was awesome and I hope the next book in this series is about him! Cô Nga was also great, I thought she was going to turn out to be a horrible person, as future mothers-in-laws usually are in novels, but she was actually really sweet and caring. Generally, everyone was great. I only wish we would've had a longer Stella and Michael cameo!Overall, the book was fun and cute and made me laugh on several occasions. The characters were likable and Khai was honestly a sweetheart in his own unique way, and it was all great. I read the book in one afternoon and I wasn't able to put it down. And yet, I only gave it three stars.There was something in this book that I wanted and that it didn't quite deliver. The romance was cute, but everything else seemed off to me. Things were either too convenient or only put in place for the sake of tension. The book also felt a bit predictable. And yes, I know that romance novels are pretty predictable by nature, there are only so many places the book could have gone, but still. I expected more.The other issue was the dynamics of the relationship. Sometimes it felt rushed. Other times it felt as if there was no base to it. How well did these character really know each other? The book takes place over one summer and it's not like the two spend that time getting to know each other all that well. I couldn't quite fall into their story the way I wanted. I was lacking a genuine connection with the characters and the story overall.In the end, I still do recommend this book. It's a quick and entertaining story from a pov we never get to see. The moment it ended I wanted to keep going and see where else the story was going to go. I also can't wait for book three to come out. Hopefully, we finally get to see Quan's story!**ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!**Follow Me Here Too: My Blog || Twitter || Bloglovin' || Instagram || Tumblr || Pinterest

*****FIVE STARS*****{ARC Generously Provided by Berkley Publishing Group}He could give her everything she wanted, a green card, real diamonds, his body, but love? Stone hearts didn’t love.She knew why he couldn’t love her. She could go to school, change her clothes, and change her speech, but she could never change where she’d come from.I didn't think I could love Khai & Esme's story as much as Michael & Stella's, but I did! I'm officially fangirling hard over Helen Hoang! This was a story that I easily was swept away by. I completely lost track of time and obligations. That is what made this a phenomenal read for me.I don’t know why but I really love when the romance doesn’t come so easy for the main characters. When a character faces challenges that most people don’t, it makes the journey infinitely more interesting. Khai is Michael’s (from “The Kiss Quotient) cousin. He too, has Asperger’s as Stella did from book one, but I would say they aren’t on the same spectrum. Khai’s mother goes off to Vietnam to find her son a bride. She worries that he will be alone for the rest of his life unless she steps in to play cupid for him. She meets Esme, by chance, and is so impressed by her that she offers her an all expense paid trip to San Francisco, where she will spend a couple of months trying to get close to Khai, which will hopefully end up with a wedding.While Khai and Esme may have come from two different worlds, they really do end up being true soulmates. Khai is set in his ways. Likes his routines. He doesn’t think he needs a woman. Khai doesn’t believe he has a heart, and this stems from tragic losses from his past. He’s internalized a lot of his pain and having Asperger’s, doesn’t make it easy for him to understand his feelings.Esme comes from very impoverished conditions. She works as a hotel maid in Vietnam, to help support her family. Meeting Khai’s mother and being offered a trip to San Francisco was almost too good to be true to Esme, but she has an honest soul and marrying someone just to get a green card to be able to stay in the U.S., was not something she could ever go through with. Her plan was to find her American father, who left Vietnam before she was born and gain citizenship that way. But, when she sees Khai for the first time, there is no denying her heart was beating for him. Poor Esme battles with insecurities. She thinks being poor and not having a college education, make her an unsuitable match for Khai.Their relationship starts off awkward but eventually strong attraction takes hold and Esme is falling hard for Khai, but he truly believes he is incapable of loving anyone else, and so the angst ensues. I loved the relationship between Khai and his older brother Quan, who was always there for his brother. He took it upon himself to help Khai maneuver through some challenges that he was not equipped to handle on his own. You can’t help but root for this couple to find a way to overcome their challenges and end up in a happily ever after that they truly deserved. I was so sad when I got to the end of the story because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to these wonderful characters.Here are my overall ratings:Hero: 5Heroine: 5Plot: 5Angst: 5Steam: 4Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 5THE BRIDE TEST releases on May 7th! I highly recommend it, and ”The Kiss Quotient”. Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Ufba4q

Meredith - New Orleans, LA

2

Tue, 18 Dec 2018

Ugh. No. Not for me.So many issues, so little time. I appreciated the author’s note at the end. I’ll just leave it that. I received an ARC of this book from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Melanie - Las Vegas, NV

4

Thu, 05 Jul 2018

ARC provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review.

“It felt too big. At the same time, it didn’t feel like enough.”

The Bride Test is the most anticipated sophomore novel from Helen Hoang, AKA: the goddess who we do not deserve and who gifted us The Kiss Quotient! And this book is following a couple of characters who we originally met in that debut! I didn’t love this installment as much as I did The Kiss Quotient, but I still think that this book is a treasure and that Helen Hoang is a gift to the world.And like The Kiss Quotient, this is an ownvoices novel, Helen is Vietnamese and is Autistic. And one of my favorite things about this book is seeing the difference of Stella, from The Kiss Quotient, and the main character of this book’s Autism. I think people just like to group marginalized people together and act like their experiences are all the same, and this author does such a wonderful job at truly showing the Autism spectrum and how vast it truly is. This book has a completely different Autistic main character, because everyone’s experiences are different, and I truly loved it more than I have words to express in this review. ➽ Khai Vietnamese, Autistic, Michael's cousin from The Kiss Quotient, living in California, and completely happy being on his own, especially after losing someone very close to him when he was younger. Even though that loss has made him think that he is incapable of love. ➽ Esme - Biracial (Vietnamese and white), living in Vietnam as a cleaning woman, when Khai’s mom travels there to try to see if she can find a woman who would be compatible with her son. And Esme accepts because she is a single mom, living in poverty with her own mother and grandmother, and she thinks this is an opportunity to give them and herself a better life. Khai’s mother promises her a summer in California, where she can see if she can make Khai fall in love with her and marry her, but if not, she will return back to her family. But with this set up, the power imbalance always is at the forefront. I always was questioning Esme and her feelings, because she has so much at stake. Also, Esme doesn’t tell Khai about her daughter for far too long, and that also felt extremely bad to me. And it’s always hard for me to root for a romance that is founded on a power imbalance and then also have it harboring such a big secret, especially after the two individuals are choosing to have sex. Now, I will say that the author does such an amazing job at putting consent at the forefront of this story constantly, yet I still could never find my footing on this shaking ground. And because of this, I can’t give this more than four stars. I will say that, besides always putting consent at the forefront, this story has a lot of other amazing elements. Like, just seeing Esme in a foreign country, doing whatever it takes to make a better life for her loved ones, and seeing her getting the education of her dreams, I am soft and so happy. My favorite part of this book was easily the acknowledgements, where Helen really shares about her personal life and her mother’s personal experience being an immigrant and coming to American in search of a better life. I shed so many tears at how beautiful and powerful these final words were, and it truly was the cherry on an already amazing ice cream sundae. Also, much like The Kiss Quotient, the family in this book is everything. Quan plays such a major roll in this story, and honestly was the shining light for me. And I am counting the days until we get his book next! But this is a story about loss and love, yet also healing and becoming the person you want to be, no matter the circumstances. We get to see both Khai and Esme dealing with their own traumas, and healing separately, but we also get to see them building something really beautiful together; a future where they can be accepted and happy. And seeing them realize they were worthy of that love and acceptance all along? So damn beautiful.

“My heart works in a different way, but it’s yours.”

Overall, I just love being in Helen Hoang’s world. From the important elements and themes, to the beautiful diversity and inclusion, to some of the steamiest and most romantic scenes ever, these books are just really easy to fall in love with. I hope she never stops writing, and I hope Berkley signs her for five more books after these five, because she is a gift to the world. Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Youtube | TwitchThe quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.Content and trigger warnings for depiction of grief, talk of loss of a loved one, abandonment, and some talk of one’s body/body issues that I think could potentially be a little triggering. Buddy read with Kathy from Kathy Trithardt & Julianna at Paper Blots! ❤️

Susanne - The United States

3

Sat, 02 Feb 2019

3.25 Stars.A Light-Hearted Rom Com with several blush worthy moments! Khai’s mother is desperate to find her son a wife - so desperate that she travels all the way to Vietnam! There, she discovers Esme (My) who she knows is the perfect match for Khai. Khai however, doesn’t want a wife. He doesn’t feel things like others and has never felt love. Khai is autistic, dislikes being touched and doesn’t really like being around people. That said, when he sees Esme he has an intense and immediate reaction to her. It is something that has never happened to him. Esme too, is intrigued. Khai is kind and he treats her with respect. Sparks just fly when these two are around each other! If only Khai felt more than attraction. If only he was capable of love. Can anything help shift his way of thinking before he loses the girl? “The Bride Test” is a sweet light enjoyable read. It is sure to make rom com readers smile! What I will say however, is that “The Bride Test” made this girl right here Blush! Like OMG.. (I was not prepared!!) It contained lots of sexy thoughts and several “cover my eye” moments (which were severely embarrassing for ole’ stick in the mud Susanne!). Though this novel was a little sexy for me, I really enjoyed the characters, especially Khai’s brother Quan - fingers crossed that there will be another story featuring him! This was a buddy read with Kaceey. So glad we read this one together! Thank you to Elisha at Berkley Publishing Group and to Helen Hoang for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Published on Goodreads on 4.27.19Will be published on Amazon on 5.7.19.Excerpt to be published on Instagram.